If you give me a softer edge
I will believe in your touch
For in the grasp
Of a summer day
I remember all these dreams
And I can hear the buzz
Of the honey bee
Singing in my ear.
But if the edge continues to hone
I’ll find my sharpness cutting knots
Deep within my root stricken back
Holding me to gnarly strength.
I am the fire
Should I be struck
For I awake within my heart,
I am the dirt
That crumbles with
A slipping fist no longer clenched
No longer fighting back.
It has been hard to admit
That my words have lost meaning.
Even the breath
That inhales to explain
Where my full self has departed to
Has lost its strength;
Faintly attached
With two softly drawn cords
Like a spider web
In early morning dew
(Too delicate and lost
To be trecherous and hard),
Whispers inside myself
Have fallen down.
This weakness has touched my message
– Ice crumbling at the brink of water –
So much so that my eyes
Are no longer opening
With meaning and fury
For they have bid me adieu
While rainwater is expected
To stain this grand scheme.
Be a lover,
Be the greasy spin
Of mind in madness,
Spiral and sway
Of clouds and trees.
Be the cheap section
Of a good time song list,
And missing strings
On a good sounding guitar.
Be a warm evening
As buzzing whips of
Crackling cans opening,
And a creaky lawn chair
Hopes for strength.
As daylight waves a day goodbye
Eyes grow ever weary
Toil has been a good day spent
Fingers feel their strength
And in the hour I say my thanks
I speak of each their task
Remembering that uniquely
Each their strengths, we carry.
I will overflow the river
I will bend down deep to fill my pail
And hurry to the side of my homestead
I have built this domain
With all I have
My two hands, heart, and family
And tomorrow I shall rise
As the new day unfolds
Ready to see the news
The clouds and trees
Shall blow my way
And trust I have the strength
To overflow
I sing this song to better me
To give away my peace
I sing this song of strength
To let it flow away
I sing this song of a righteous path
That gathers all the steam
I sing this song louder yet
To reach the ears of vain
I sing this song to overflow
The basins at each fountain
I sing this song of eternal youth
To keep our vigor strong
I sing this song out to you
For it is me who needs it most.
Alone I walked into the sea
To bare my naked chest
I stood here staring into darkness
And no voice returned back at me
No cry was heard from my mouth
No quiver upon my lip
For virtue had led me to here
Neither shame nor blame held me
And to this eye I stared right back
No wrong turn had been made
My toil left me up to my neck
My strength helped me breathe.
I held my hand out to the sky
An act of bold courage
Asking for the strength within;
It was to me as clear
As the sky I reached towards
Already upon my breast
Telling me what little I knew
What steps I had begun
More sternly though
What steps I had to go.
So I clenched my fist down
Emancipated at once
From the gallows of self doubt.
This is for the world in you
The orb that pumps so freely
So guided and gentle
So fierce and powerful
So knowing and certain
And comforted and questioning.
This is for standing tall and yelling
I FUCKING LOVE YOU
Because I do love you
And I hold you in more than just my thoughts
For my strength is more than just my muscles
I hold you in my self
For myself
You who are myself and who are else
Who tempts me
And shows me
And lifts me
And challenges me
Who gargles my breath and spits out my flesh
Who grips on tight when the lights turn down low
Who opens each door knowing
That on the other side
There will be no more turning back
Because this is for the world in you
And the world in you is calling
On the world inside of you
To take comfort
With the world in you
Because this world in you
Is for the world in you.
Every breath that I hold me to take
How it is my strength, oh strength,
That lifts me to the divine
For watching is exposed my soul
Walking the path I only know how
Say that you’re calling out loud
How it is my strength, my strength,
My ears are bound tight
To megaphones singing Lord’s prayer
Walking the path I only know how
Can sunshine ever know it’s truth
How it is my strength, oh strength,
And my wide eyes undoing my load
A burden so many shall run
Walking the path I only know how